The Snow Prince of Go
by Paige LeStrange
Summary: Ayame isnt normal.In six years she became pro in three countries.Her family is known for Shougi which causes a problem between her mom and her.Is there a certain Pro that can help her through it all?And maybe find a little romance?WAYAOC!R&R!1st HnG fic!
1. Chapter 1: The Snow Prince, Ayame!

A/N: You know what I notice, there really isn't any characterOC stories in Hikaru no Go, so I decided to do one. This is going to be a WayaOC story, cause Waya's awesome like that! Even if I like Akira better, cause Akira is K00L like that...LOL...I'm done here...

Disclaimer: I do not OWN Hikaru no Go...or it's characters. I only own my character so far which is Ayame Yukikimi...I love that last name...LOL...her name means Snow Prince Iris. Anyways...I'll let you get to the story...

* * *

Chapter One:

"Excuse me, but can you point me towards the Young Lions Tournoment?" A kid with an english accent said. Their Japanese seemed to be good, but their accent gave away that they were from another country.

"Oh, yes, it's right this way." The old man said turning, "I was heading there myself."

"Ah! Thank you very much." The kid said bowing.

"So, where are you from? I can tell from your accent you aren't from Japan."

"Actually, I am from Japan. I moved away when I was fourteen, and now, four years later, I have returned!" The kid said laughing, "Those four years though, I was put through a most difficult course of action." The kid said, eyes downcasted. "Maybe now, I can return to the pro world and not be a considered a failure."

"Ah, no one is a complete failure at Go, maybe you just had a bad start." The old man said as the kid laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Back then I was..." The kid said looking up at the sky, a smile laying accross their lips. "But now, I'm stronger."

They entered the young lions tournoment and looked around. "Well, I'm going to go and look at the players." The kid said grinning.

"Oh! Wait." The old man said, stopping the kid. "What was your name? You never told me."

"Ah...My name is Yukikimi Ayame!" The kid said turning towards the man, "And don't forget it!" Ayame said before turning and walking off, "And don't worry, I already know your name. It's called a name tag that is pinned on your shirt, Kuwabara Honinbou!" Ayame called before turning a corner.

"There's something about that kid, I just don't know what it is..." Kuwabara said turning and going into another room to talk to some of the other pros.

The kid in the cammie pants walked down the hallway, looking in the rooms, but only finding empty ones. Ayame's black sneakers had its shoelaces untied and trailed behind. The big black shirt with sleeves to the elbows with the word "Go" on the front on the top right with a white stone behind it. On the back was a bigger white stone that had "Go Pro!" written across it. Under the black shirt was a cammie shirt matching the pants, that was long sleeve and clung to Ayame's thin arms.

"Huh?" Ayame paused, and took a few steps back as a door was opened. There was a group of boys in there drinking soda and talking before the tournoment. "Where'd they get the drinks?" Ayame asked no body in general as a boy in the room noticed Ayame.

"Hey, are you here for the tournoment?" He asked. He wore a blue cammie shirt with a grey shirt over and some jeans.

"Y-yeah...I'm not in it though!" Ayame said as he looked at Ayame oddly. "May I ask though..."

"Hmm?"

"Where did you get your drink from?" He sweat-dropped a bit as he stepped to the side.

"The drinks are in here if you want one. Oh, by the way, I'm Waya."

"Ah, thank you!" Ayame said looking at the others in the room. "I'm Ayame...Yukikimi Ayame."

"Yukikimi, do you play Go?" Waya asked sitting down in his seat. Ayame got a drink and sat down by him.

"Yeah, I went pro in Europe, China, and Japan a few years ago. I was planning on going to America to try to be Pro over there, but I decided to sneak back to Japan for a bit." Ayame said, grinning before taking a drink.

"You have to enter another Pro tournoment in each country?" A boy with blonde and black hair asked.

"Yeah, you didn't know that?" Ayame said looking at him amazed at how little he knew. "What's your name kid?"

"Shindo...Hikaru Shindo..." He said as Ayame nodded, "Wait! Who you calling a kid! I'll taller than you!"

"Anyways..." Ayame said ignoring Hikaru. "Waya, are you all here to participate in the young lions tournoment?"

"Well, Isumi, Hikaru, Ochi, and I are." He said as Ayame nodded.

"I wish you luck then against the Pro's." Ayame said as they all looked at her. She paused momentarily, "Wait...you guys are the pro's, aren't you?"

"What did you think we were?!" Hikaru and Waya said as Ayame almost flipped out of her seat.

"Um...I thought may be..."

"Don't answer that!" Waya said sitting back down, him and Hikaru fumming. Ayame looked a little nervous.

"Are they always like that?" She asked the oldest, Isumi.

"Only before a game." He explained. She nodded understanding.

"So they're lack confidence, hmm?" She said taking a sip of her soda.

"C-confidence?!" Waya said looking at her, "I can prove to you now that I know I'm confident in my victory against anyone that comes at me!" He said challenging her.

She raised her eyebrows at him as she set down her soda. "Sure, there's a goban right there. I'll defeat you now and show you confidence is only a small portion of what you actually need." She said as they got the board ready. "I'll let you place five stones down."

"Now you're just being cocky!" Waya said as he sat down, "It will be an even game."

"Fine with me." She said smirking. Waya rethought now, but shoved it out of his mind. "Looks like you go first."

"Come on Waya, show her how powerful we actually are!" Hikaru said cheering Waya on.

Waya placed a stone down, and Ayame grabbed a stone and held it above the board momentarily before slamming it down, the noise echoing, and causing everyone to watch with their full attention then. _This strength..._ They thought looking at the stone, spacing from reality.

_This strength...is similar to the internet Go player Sai..._ Waya thought, his eyes wide as he looked at the board. He let his hand rest on the stones in the container as he tried to come to his senses. _Calm down Waya, it's just an oppenent that's trying to scare you...Don't let it scare you!_ He said to himself as he raised the stone above the board and slid it into it's place. _I can win this!_

"I...resign..."

"Thank you very much." Ayame said bowing her head. Waya repeated the same as they cleared the board.

"Waya..." His friends said as he kept his eyes shadowed by his hair as he cleared the board.

He looked up at her, shifting his hair out of his face, "I'll defeat you one of these days!"

"Then you better remember my name and look for a rematch when you stand a chance, Waya-chan." She said, adding the -chan in a teasing voice. He glared at her as she stood up. "Well, I'll see how your matches go!" She said grabbing her soda and left the room. She paused at the door and turned back to the room. "Waya, don't worry, you're pretty strong for being a Pro for under a few years." She said and he looked at her as she smiled again before leaving.

"Yukikimi Ayame..." Waya said to himself, "I'll have to remember that name." He sat down in his chair and rest his head on his arms, staring at his soda can.

Ayame smiled to herself, he almost made her go full out on him. He was a challenging oppenent, and she looked foward to the next time they played. She was surprised he didn't question how she knew how long he had been a pro, but he missed his chance, so it didn't matter. Her phone started to go off, "Yes?" She asked. "Ah! Kaga! Long time no talk." She said laughing. "How'd you know I was back in Japan?" She frowned, "I swear, if I find out that my cousin is stalking me, I'll call the cops on you, Kaga." She tossed the empty can of soda in the recycling bin. "I'm at the young lions tournoment...Shindo?...Yeah! I just left the room he was in." He said something, and she paused, "I guess you can come, only you must behave! I know how you are with Go." She nodded to herself, "Alright, see ya in ten cuz."

"Kaga...is your cousin?!" She turned around to see Hikaru.

"Yeah...wait...are you following me?!" She said, her eye brow twitching slightly.

"I was going to ask you before you left. Do you play internet Go?" He asked her, "Around five years ago."

"five years ago?" She thought back, "That was when I was thirdteen, I believe..yeah it was..." She said, coming out of her thought. "I played it once."

"Who was it against?" He asked as she looked at him.

"Some kid named Zelda." She said as Waya, Ochi, and Isumi caught up to Shindo.

"You played me online?!" Waya yelled startling her.

"I guess so???" She said confused, "Only Zelda was really weak, nothing like you are Waya."

"It was five years ago..." He said slightly annoyed.

"Guys, our games are going to be starting in a second." Ochi said getting their attention. The other three nodded and left. Waya looked at her momentarily.

"Good luck." She said as she walked past him. His gold eyes looked at her dark purple eyes. "Hmm?" She paused and looked at him before patting him on the head, "New pro's are always the cutest!" She said laughing to herself while walking away.

"C-cute?! Don't call me cute! Guys aren't suppose to be cute! Girls are!" He said steaming.

"Waya sure is getting worked up over nothing, isn't he?" Ochi commented to the others as they waited down the hallway.

"I just think he's not use to someone flirting with him, since he's usually around us all the time." Isumi said as Shindo and Ochi looked at him questioningly.

"You call _that_ flirting?" Ochi asked.

"It's her form apparently." Isumi said, "Or did you not notice that she's only been teasing Waya this whole time?"

"Oh, yeah..." Ochi and Shindo noticed. The three looked at Ayame as she walked past them. She looked at each of them momentarily as she walked by, wondering why they watched her.

"I want to play against her too! I can probably defeat her!" Shindo said making a fist as he thought about it. _It would be like playing Sai again!_

Waya walked over, looking a bit annoyed. "Waya, you okay?" Isumi asked him.

He crossed his arms and looked away from them to the side before looking back at them. "She called me cute..." He said as Isumi laughed. "It's not funny Isumi!"

"Ah, but it is." Waya glared at Isumi. The four soon entered and sat in their spots ready to play the insei's.

"Ayame?" Ayame turned around from standing in the doorway looking accross the room. She saw her red haired cousin. "Yo!"

"You actually found the place?!" She said sounding shocked, but of course, it was sarcasism.

"Yeah, of course, I have my own ride now." She looked at him disbelieving. "Do you want me to show ya?"

"Not at the moment." She said turning back to the room. "Shindo's over there if you're looking for him." She said pointing over to the boy that Kaga new. He nodded, and walked over to see his game. She had been searching the room, but couldn't find Waya anywhere. "Where is he?" She asked herself looking around the room from the doorway.

"Yo." Someone said, causing her to jump. She turned around to see the gold eyes of Waya.

"Why aren't you in there playing?" She asked, "are you scared to face an insei after I creamed you before?" She asked smuggly.

"No, the insei I was suppose to play had called in saying he couldn't come because of something with family." He said standing by her.

"Do you want to see Shindo's game? Or anyone elses?" She asked, looking at him from the corner of her eyes. "My cousin is over by Shindo's right now. Apparently they new eachother back at Haze junior high. Even though he's two years older than us."

"He's looks very...intimmidating..." Waya said inwarily to himself, "You two must be related then." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yukikimi-san?" She turned around to face an older man with blonde hair. "Ah, so it is you."

"Ayame?!" A surprised Touya Akira said appearing from next to the other man.

"Akira?!" Ayame said looking at him surprised. "So...Ogata-sensei?!" She said looking at the blonde man. She then turned back to Akira. "You've grown Akira." He sort of chuckled, not loud enough for the people playing to get distracted. "I'm jealous..."

"I heard from your brother that you became a pro in China and Europe...I couldn't believe it when he told me." Akira said as she nodded.

"Ayame..." Waya said looking at Ayame, "I'm going to go watch Shindo's game." She nodded and he left to go and watch.

"Shindo? He's here?" Akira said in disbelief. "I didn't think he would participate in the young lions tournoments anymore."

"Geez, it seems like after I left, everyone I knew met eachother..." Ayame sighed. She then brightened up, "Akira..."

"Yes, Ayame?"

"Let's play a game...it's been a little over four years..."

"Back then, you could only defeat defeat with a stone handicap." He said as she grinned, "This time, we will play an even game."

"And I will beat you." She said grinning still. Ogata looked at the two for a second before entering the room to go and watch some games. By the end of Akira and Ayame's match, the winners were mainly pro's. "You've gotten better, Akira..." Ayame said looking at the board, "You beat me by half a moku..."

"So have you, Ayame, but when you played this move here, I wasn't sure which one of my stones you were going to go after."

"But then you cut me off over here, and that's why I had a hard time keeping up afterwards." Ayame said. They both smiled at eachother before cleaning the board. "Next time, I'll win, Akira."

"We all win again!" Shindo said as the four boys entered. "Well, of course Waya had it easy..."

"Shut up Shindo...I wasn't running around saying _I won! I won! I won by default like I did to enter the Pro exams!_" Waya said putting his hands behind his head as they entered. The boys entered and Waya looked at Ayame. _I wonder who won between the two...They're both powerful..._

Akira started to talk to Hikaru for a bit while Waya sat in the seat across from Ayame at the table. Kaga soon entered and gave Hikaru a pat on the head, "You really have inproved Shindo... I remember when I would beat you all the time, even though I was the head Shougi player."

"Kaga!" Hikaru said swatting his hand off his head. "I've grown since then!"

"That's why I'm complimenting you, you idiot!" Kaga said, walking over and sitting by Ayame. "Ayame, you want to head over to my place for a while? I mean, considering your parents don't know your back in Japan and all." He said as Ayame nodded.

"And I can see what you ride now!" She said as he grinned. The two stood up and started to leave, "See ya later, guys!" She said she stopped for a second, "Akira, you still have my number right?"

"Yeah, as long as you didn't change it from four years ago." He said and she nodded.

"See you later, Waya-chan!" She said in the same teasing voice when she added -chan. Her and Kaga left and Waya was left fumming to himself.

"It really is true, I guess." Ochi said pushing his glasses up.

"What is?" Waya asked Ochi. Everyone looked at Ochi, including Akira.

"About what Isumi said earlier...about how she only teases Waya..." Ochi said as Waya glared at Isumi for a moment.

"Oh! How Isumi-san was saying about her style of flirting?" Shindo asked as Waya fell out of his seat.

"F-f-flirting?!" He said standing up, his hands on the table.

"It's not her flirting, it's just how she is." Akira said as all eyes turned to him. "She did that to me a lot when we were kids."

". . ." Everyone stayed silent and Akira questioned their looks.

"Akira...were you the only one your guys age at the time?" Isumi asked him.

He thought about it, "yeah, we were."

Isumi let out a sigh, which everyone questioned, but recieved no answer. "This girl is complicated..."


	2. Chapter 2: Confusion amoung the Prince

Disclaimer: Do not own Hikaru no GO or its characters... I do own Shuhei, Ayame and Saikano...and the owner of the Go Salon, yada yada...

* * *

Chapter Two

"Ayame..." Kaga said as he looked at his younger cousin who layed sprawled out on the floor in his apartment on her laptop.

She didn't look up when she responded, "Hmm?" She mumbled.

"It's been about a week that you've been staying here, and we haven't really even gone anywhere like we use too." Kaga said sitting down on the futon that was layed out for Ayame to sleep on at nights.

"I've realized that as well." She said, "Dammit..." She cursed under her breath.

"What are you doing anyways?" He asked looking at the laptop. "Internet Go?"

"Yeah, I was hoping I could play Waya again on here. I played him the other day." She said, "Ha, I win again..." She grinned.

"Waya? You mean the guy with the gold eyes?" Kaga asked opening a can of soda. Ayame nodded. "Why don't you play Shindo or something? I'm pretty sure he's stronger than that Waya kid."

"Waya's pretty strong though...I haven't had a chance to play Shindo or the others really. Since I've been here, I've only played you, Waya, and Akira...and only Akira beat me...by half a moku." She said sighing in defeat. "I'm going to defeat him one of these days, watch..." She mumbled as she looked at the screen. "HEY! He's on." She said sitting up and clicking on the name Zelda.

"Ayame?" Kaga asked. She looked away from the screen at him. "Do you like...Waya?"

"W-what?!" She said looking at him like he had grown another head. "Why would I like him?!" She said fumming.

"Don't get so defencive about it, geez..." Kaga said covering one of his ears. He took another drink of his soda. "I was just asking...unless..." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm going to kill you, Kaga..." She said before he could say anything else. He just laughed loudly.

"She's on again too!" Waya said accepting her match. _I haven't been able to defeat her yet, but I will one of these days._ He thought as he placed a stone. There was a knock on his door. "It's open!" He called.

"Waya... Shindo and I were wondering if you'd wanted to play some games at the local Go salons." Isumi said walking in. He looked over and saw him playing online.

"Yeah, let me play this match though." Waya said.

"Are you playing Yukikimi again?" Isumi said and Waya nodded.

.:xXx:.

_It's strange to think when I left Japan, I was only fourteen... I was in ninth grade, third year junior high student. I had become a pro with Akira, two years before...after I left Japan, I went to China for a bit...by the time I was fifteen, I became a Pro there...but then my parents found out where I was, and I moved to Europe...Damn english is hard to learn quickly..._ Ayame thought as she sat on a subway. She was going across town just for the hell of it. _Two years later, I became a Pro there, and played a lot. In those four years I had grown. I also had a teacher, a coach come with me, and other than playing Go, he also kept me in shape. He use to say that if the body is in shape, so is the mind. The sharper the body, the sharper the mind...I felt like I was in bootcamp..._ She sighed looking around her. Not that many people were on the subway at the time. An announcement came over the train and she noticed it was her stop.

"I wonder if they still live there...If they still live in the same house as they did before..." She said to herself as she walked down the street. It was a more country like area, not much houses or business district. She walked past a Go Salon and paused smiling. That's where she had first learn how to play Go...

She walked inside of it and looked around. It hadn't changed a bit. The dark black carpet with the blue walls with the fishtanks throughout it, and the white ceiling. "Good afternoon!" She said as she walked in. It was fairly empty. The owner looked over at her. "Owner!" She said running over to him. "Long time no see!" She said grinning.

"Ayame?! Ayame Yukikimi?!" He said as she nodded. "Where have you been? I heard you went pro in China, and Europe...But that's the last I heard." He said as she nodded.

"I left to improve myself, which I did! I'm not the weak 3-dan I was before I left. I'm one of the best in China and across Europe they say!" She said as he looked at her grinning face.

"You've also changed a lot, and not from the Go or growing another good three inches." She looked at him questioningly, her grin disappearing.

"What do you mean, owner?" She asked him.

"You seem happier than when you left." He commented. "Is it because you haven't had your parents breathing down you back about your Go playing?"

Her eyes downcasted, showing slight pain and saddness. The door opened and someone entered. Ayame clenched her fist on the counter. "It was nice, ya know? Without my parents always yelling at me for playing Go...it was nice that I was able to play as much as I wanted and wherever I wanted... I was thinking about seeing them today..."

"Is that why you're in the neighboorhood, Ayame?" Her eyes widened and she turned to face a boy with the same purple eyes as her. He had the same black hair as her, only his was shorter and fell around his eyes and down his neck partically, where her's fell to her waist. "It would be nice if you stop by to see mother and father."

She stayed quiet, not looking at her brother, or at the owner. "Ayame..." The owner asked as she turned away from them, her bangs falling over her eyes.

"It was nice to see you again, owner...but I need to leave..." She said before anyone else could speak she ran out of the salon. She accidentally bumped into someone, knocking her phone out of her coat pocket. "I'm sorry..." She said quickly, not bothering to look at who it was.

"Ayame...?!?" Waya said turning to see who had bumped into Isumi after hearing her voice. "Huh?" He looked over as Isumi picked up the phone that she had dropped. "What is it?"

"She dropped her phone." Isumi said as he handed it to Waya. "You're the one wearing cargo pants, you hold onto it."

"R-right?" Waya asked as he slipped it into one of his pockets. The three entered the Go salon, challenging people to play them.

"Dammit...where the hell is that phone?" Ayame said to herself, searching everywhere that she had been in Kaga's appartment. "Phone, phone, PPPPHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she called out as if hoping it would respond. "God Dammit!" She said giving up on looking for it. She pulled out her laptop and got onto the KGS server to play some Go online to calm her nerves.

_Zelda - Ayame, you dropped your phone earlier when you ran out of the salon..._

_SnowPrince - So you have it?!_

_Zelda - Yeah...it keeps going off with a picture of Kaga on it..._

_SnowPrince - Dammit...he must be trying to call him..._

_Zelda - I'll return it to you...where do you want to meet up?_

_SnowPrince - I can probably come to your place to pick it up, and then kick your ass at Go..._

_Zelda - if you say it that way, you'll never get your phone back!_

_SnowPrince - I want my phone you bastard!_

_Zelda - that's what I thought._

_SnowPrince - So where do you live?_

There was a knock on Waya's door a half hour later. "It's open!" He called as he flipped a page in Go Weekly.

"You are completely lazy, you know?!" She said closing the door behind her, and locking it. "And anyways, you should lock your door, didn't you see on the news about some theif running around in the area? It's strange, it's a Go theif too." Ayame said as Waya tossed her the phone. "Whaaaa-?! Geez...Kaga has no life..." She said noticing he had called and filled up her inbox. "Oh, Akira called..." She said noticing his number.

"I put my number in there too, so you don't have to always look for me on the KGS server. And I got your number as well." Waya said, "I didn't feel that lazy to do that much."

"Waya-chan is still a cutesy lil pro though." She said ruffling his hair. "So, you still want me to kick your ass in a game of Go?"

"You can try." Waya said as he got the goban out.

"Waaaaaaaaaaa-yyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Someone's voice came from the other side of the locked door. "Your door is locked and I can't get in!"

"Shindo?" Waya thought sitting up from laying down. He looked over towards his bed where Ayame had fallen asleep with a Go weekly magazine over her face. He stood up cleaned up a bit and walked to the door, and opened it. "Hey! Shindo, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was bored and Akira was busy, so I came over here." He said grinning, "I thought maybe I could beat you at a game or something." Waya's eye brow twitched a bit.

"Fine, but be quiet." Waya said as he let him in.

"Why? It's not like anyone else would care." Shindo said then he spotted Ayame asleep on the bed. He looked at Waya, an eyebrow raised. "Waya... why is there a girl...in your apartment...asleep...on your bed?" Shindo said looking at Waya.

"She came over earlier to get her phone and ended up staying a while. We played a few rounds of Go and I beat her finally." Waya said grinning.

"Only once? Out of how many times?"

"That's not important..." Waya said looking at Shindo. "It's just the fact that I actually beat her at an even game..."

"Waya, shut up!" Ayame's voice came as she stretched. "It was only one game and I was falling asleep half way through it..."

"Ayame! Don't make excuses just because I beat you..." He teased. He was then knocked off his feet by her throwing a pillow full force at him. He landed on his bottom, the pillow slowly falling off his face. "AYAME!" He said glaring at her. She just stuck out her tounge and pulled down one of her eyelids.

"I'd like to see you beat me more often, then you can gloat." She said as he threw the pillow back at her. She caught it and layed back down on his bed, using the pillow as a pillow. She watched as Hikaru sat down and the two got ready to play. "I guess I'll get to see if you just suck against me, or if you just generally suck, Waya-chan." She said in her teasing voice of adding -chan.

.:xXx:.

_She's returned to Japan...I ran into her the other day... I thought I would let you know, considering you like to know where your only daughter is and everything... She's living with Kaga as far as I know... You can have fun now... I will tell you no more about her... She is after all, my sister..._

.:xXx:.

Ayame was sitting on a bench at a park reading a book. It wasn't a manga, or a book on Go or Shougi. It was a normal chapter book without pictures. She was after all, eighteen and didn't live off of all that.

She turned the page, and looked up over her reading glasses she had. Her eyes scanned the area around her, feelling a presence she did not care for. She returned to her book and continued to read. _Who has this high intensity and nervousness? It's almost like they aren't sure to attack... Are they waiting for me to start it?_ She closed her book and sighed, removing her reading glasses and putting them in their case and slidding her book and glasses in her bag.

She turned and faced a tree where whoever was nervous was standing behind it. "Come out, or I shall harm you!" She said sternly. She walked slowly over to the tree and looked behind it. There was a small rabbit. "Dammit..." She said, "Ever since I ran into him, I've had this feelling..." She said, "I'm pretty sure he has told our parents that I'm back. Do you know anything about it..." She turned towards the bench, "...Saikano?" She asked a girl with short red hair and brown eyes.

"Honnestly, I don't know." She said softly. This was another cousin of hers, that lived with Ayame's parents. "Though, I do know that Shuhei has talked about someone returning back to Japan...and that your mother and father should know about it."

"Superb..." Ayame said leaning against the tree.

"Ayame... I have a question..."

"Go for it." Ayame said, sighing slightly.

"That boy that you've been talking to...The one with really strange brown hair and gold eyes..." Ayame nodded, knowing who she was talking about. "What is he to you? Because you seem to ignore his friends when their around..."

"So, it wasn't Kaga that's been stalking me, it's been you..." Ayame said, smirking to herself. "I should have known. You were there at the tournoment... you played Ochi, right?"

"Now look who is being the stalker." Saikano said giggling.

"He's my friend, I suppose..." Ayame said, "But I'm heading home. I'll catch ya later, Saikano." She said starting to walk away, "Oh, and tell Shuhei to bugger off, will ya?"

"Will do!" Saikano said smiling.

_Why is everyone always asking me about Waya? I mean, sure he's hott and everything...wait...rewind...Did I just say in my mind, in my thoughts that I thought he was hott?!?! _Ayame thought, starting to turn red as she walked down the street. _I don't like him, I just apparently think he's hott, that's all, right? I mean, he's really nice, he's actually a good Go player, plus he's a pro...and... IM STOPPING MY THOUGHTS RIGHT NOW!!!!!_ Ayame mentally slapped herself. "Waya? No way..." She said shaking her head.

"Ayame?"

"WAHHHHHH!" She yelled jumping from the ground, and grabbing onto a tree branch.

"Wahhh?"

"I meant, Waya!" She said laughing nervously looking into his gold eyes. "WAHHH is only the begining of the name, remember?" She said looking at him, he still being confused. She laughed slightly and let go of the tree branch, landing on her feet. "What are you doing over in the area anyways?"

"I was heading over to Shindo's house." Waya said, "Do you want to come?"

She looked past him where Saikano was still sitting on the bench looking at a bird on the ground. She turned back towards Waya, "I can't." He looked over his shoulder to see what she was looking at. "I'm busy...I was about to head back to my house...my cousins apartment..."

"How far is it?" Waya asked her. She pointed down the street. "Ah, that's the way towards Shindo's house, I'll walk with you until we get to your cousin's place." She nodded, and the two crossed the street. "You live with Kaga, right? How old is he, anyways?"

"He'll be twenty-one in a few weeks." She said, "So I'm thinking I'll leave before that."

"You're going to leave?" He said not believing it.

"Yeah. I can't stay here to long. I think I'll fly out to America for a while." She said looking at the sky. "I'm going to try to go pro over there...Or maybe even Korea!" She said getting a bit excited. "But if I go to Korea...I'd be close to Japan..." She said more towards herself. _And they'd easily find me there..._ She thought closing her eyes.

"What's wrong with being near Japan. Why don't you just stay in Japan?" Waya said as Ayame looked at him questioningly. "I still need to beat you at an even match without you being half asleep!"

"I'll come back...eventually..." She said looking away from him.

"Eventually?!" Waya said, "That's not a percise time! What if I end up leaving when you come back? How are we suppose to have our match!?"

She let her head drop where her bangs covered her eyes. "I'll talk to you later, this is where the apartments are." She said turning away from him. "Have fun at Shindos!" She said smiling at him before turning again to leave.

"Wait!" Waya said reaching out to stop her. He was able to grab her wrist, causing her to turn again towards him.


	3. Chapter 3: A new Feelling, what is it!

Disclaimer: Same as before...yada yada...Me iz lazy!

* * *

Chapter Three:

"Wait!" Waya said grabbing her wrist. She turned to face him again. "Ayame..." He didn't know what to say and released her wrist. He lowered his head, his bangs covering his eyes. She didn't know what to say either and turned and left him there.

"Ayame, is that you?!" Kaga called from the other room. Ayame stayed quiet as she sat down on her futon and pulled her laptop out of it's bag. "AYAME!" He yelled walking into the room. She layed with her back to the room and to him, her head proped up on her hand as she went to the KGS servers and signed in. "What the hell, Ayame?!"

She stayed quiet, not answering. It annoyed him that she was doing this to him. He looked over at the laptop where she was playing a game of Go, and it was quite badly.

"Ayame...what's wrong?" He asked sitting down behind her. She completely ignored him. "Don't tell me that your boyfriend broke up with you! That's just-" Ayame threw a pillow at Kaga, hitting him in the face.

"Shut up." She said icely towards him. _Why am I now rethinking about leaving? _She thought staring off at the laptop monitor. _Why does Waya want me to stay? It's not like he likes me more than a friend...right?_ She thought as she cursed under her breath, "Dammit...what's wrong with me!" She closed the laptop and grabbed the pillow she threw at Kaga and layed on it, facing the wall.

"Well, I could tell ya if you told me why your like this!" Kaga said to her as she glared at him. "Is it because of that weird kid you've been hanging around lately? And his friends? Shindo's part of their gang right?"

"I don't know, and yeah, it's Shindo's gang." She said stretching out on the pillow.

_She's never been like this before...what is going on with her?! She never done anything this confusing before! ARRGGGHHH I can't stand girls when they're like this!_ Kaga mentally ruffled his hair. He sighed. _Women are to complicanted...but I'm not Gay...I'm straight..._ He told himself.

"Waya! Your game is off. It's been off ever since you came here..." Shindo commented.

"Shut up! I-I'm just going easy on you!" Waya said glaring at Shindo who laughed. "Why are you laughing?!"

"Waya's being distracted by someone." Isumi said from Shindo's bed. He sat leaning against the wall reading Go Weekly.

"What's that suppose to mean?!" Waya said looking from Isumi to Shindo.

"Waya, stop playing dumb." Isumi said which shocked Waya _and_ Shindo both.

"She said she was leaving before Kaga turns twenty-one..." He said as Shindo and Isumi looked at eachother.

"What did you tell her?" Shindo asked, "Have you told her yet that you like her?!"

"I don't like her like that!" Waya said as Shindo looked at him smuggly as Waya glared.

"Ayame travels a lot, Waya...You should already be well aware of it." Isumi said. "I talked to the owner at the Go Salon, remember? While you guys went to play some people."

"What did you talk about, Isumi?" Shindo asked him.

"I had asked him what had happened, and he told me that she ran into her brother...His name is Shuhei..." Isumi said, "The owner told me that Ayame had learned Go there as a child, and her parents forbid her to learn it, but she still continued to learn and play. They hated Go a lot, and Ayame would get in trouble, so she started to run away a lot." Waya and Shindo's eyes went wide. "After she became a Pro, she decided after a while, she would leave and go to China...she somehow managed to become Pro there, and her parents found out. They've been trying to get her to come home, and get revenge for all the _trouble_ she put them through."

"But she's so good at Go, what parent wouldn't want their child to play it?!" Waya asked.

"Their family is known for Shougi..." Isumi said. Shindo nodded, remembering about Kaga and shougi. "And playing Go would be an insult..."

"What?!" Isumi and Shindo covered their ears at Waya's yell.

"What do you mean you'll be leaving?!" Kaga yelled as Ayame covered her ears. "You can't just leave like that again!"

"And why not?! I'm eighteen, Kaga! I have every right to leave and go wherever I want to!" Ayame yelled back at him.

"Well, if your just going to go and leave again, why don't you leave right now?! That would spare you the sentimentalness later on!" Kaga retorted.

"If you want me to, then I guess I have too!" She said grabbing her stuff. "I guess I shouldn't get to attatched to Japan again...considering I don't belong here." She said turning away from Kaga. She grabbed her phone and slipped it into her pocket.

She grabbed her back that now held everything she had brought, and owned. Her Laptop, clothes, phone, pen, pencil, papers, notebooks, kifu paper... She reached the door and Kaga was trailing behind her. "You can't leave now though! Where are you going to go?!"

"I'll find somewhere!" She said before leaving and slamming the door in his face.

"You bitch!" Kaga yelled rubbing his nose._ What are you going to do! GEEZZZZZZZZ this is why women are annoying! They get to sentimental!_

_Waya said Shindo lived that way, so I'll go the other way...that be the worst, to run into Waya while I'm like this..._ She said wipping a tear from her eyes. She and Kaga never got in any arguements as long as they've known eachother. They got in petty arguements over who got the last slice of pizza or something, but nothing as big as this. She took a breath, and started to head in the opposite direction of Shindo's house. _He'd probably take this advantage and challenge me, knowing he would win..._ She laughed slightly as she thought about this.

She walked down the steps to the subway. _I'll go somewhere..._ She thought as she purchased a ticket. She waited for the train to come.

"GOD DAMN YOU, AYAME!!!! ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE!" Kaga yelled as he stormed down the stairs in the apartment complex. He walked out of it and onto the side walk. "She's probably at the park." He mumbled to himself as he started to head down the street. "If she thinks I'm going to be nice to her when she comes back, I'll have to treat her like a kid! DAMMIT!" He yelled into the air.

"Kaga?" He paused and turned to see Shindo with Isumi and Waya.

"Shindo!" Kaga said, "Have you by any chance seen Ayame?" He asked looking at the ground pushing his index fingers together.

"Ayame? No... why?" Shindo responded.

"We kind of got in an arguement, and she left with all her stuff..." Kaga said as Waya hit him on the head. "What the hell was that for!?!"

"How can you just yell at a girl!?! Even if she pisses you off?!They're still a person, and women are more sentimental about things! You probably made her cry!" Waya yelled at Kaga, glaring at him. Kaga glared back at him. "If you made her cry I'm going to kick your ass!"

"Hey! You're the kid, aren't ya?!" He said as Waya looked confused.

"You're the one that started all this!" Kaga yelled at him.

"What did I do?!" Waya yelled back.

"Waya, right now isn't the time to be arguing!" Isumi said getting their attention. Waya and Kaga looked over. "We don't know where she's at, so you arguing is just sending her further and further away every second you waste."

"Where would she go?" Shindo asked.

"Some place that she feels safe at." Kaga said, "That's what she always did."

"Which is where?" Shindo asked.

"Almost any Go Salon, or book place." Kaga said.

"Shindo, Waya, and I can look around Go salons and book stores." Isumi said, "We'll help find her."

"Right." Waya and Shindo agreed.

"Dammit...my train is on delay..." She cursed under her breath as she sat back down in a seat. "Who knows how long it would be before it will come again..."

"We'll cal eachother if we find her, or any hint of her." Isumi explained. They all nodded and went different ways. Kaga ran back to the apartments to get his bike while Waya, Shindo and Isumi ran off in different directions. _You would think all of us would have our license by now..._ Isumi thought as he entered a Go salon and looked around. "Excuse me..." He asked a man behind the counter.

"Have you seen a girl with long waist length black hair and purple eyes?" Shindo asked a lady at a book store.

"She has a bag with her, because she's leaving..." Kaga asked someone at another book store.

"She's really pretty, if you see her, you can't forget her." Waya said talking to a guy in a Go Salon.

"Her name is Yukikimi Ayame." The four said together in different places.

"Yeah, I think I saw her." The guy that Waya was talking to said.

"Where did she go?" Waya asked.

"When I got off my train she had purchased a train ticket." He replied.

"Thank you very much!" Waya said turning and running out of the Go Salon and down the nearest subway stairs. He looked around, _Where?! Where are you, Ayame?!_ He thought looking around the place. _There!_

"What?! You found her?!" Kaga yelled over the phone at Waya. "Where?!"

_Of course you would find her, Waya..._ Isumi thought as he ran down the street to the place.

"Right! I'll be right there as well!" Shindo said hanging up with Waya.

He looked back to where Ayame was, and she wasn't there. "What?!" He said looking around. She started walking over to the train that had just pulled up. _No! the others are going to be here any second! Please, just wait you stupid train! Don't take off!_ Waya said starting to run towards the train. She turned as the doors started to close.

"Waya!" She said softly, spotting him. He jumped over the box that takes the tickets and landed inside the train as the doors closed behind him. He stood up from the ground as he landed almost falling onto his knees. "Waya, what are you doing here?!" She asked looking at him in the eyes, confused.

"Kaga...he told us about the arguement..." Waya said, slightly panting.

"What?! That bastard..." She growled slightly.

"Stay..." He paused, trying to catch his breath still. "Stay with me then." He said and she looked at him.

"Waya said she was here..." Shindo said as him and Isumi arrived there about the same time. Kaga had been there just for a while, but to late to see anyone that resembled Waya or Ayame. "But he's not even here..."

"If she's on a train, she'll get no reception down here." Isumi said, "Which means neither will Waya..."

"So what are we suppose to do then?" Shindo asked.

"We'll have to wait for Waya to call us." Isumi said as Kaga and Shindo nodded._ He probably couldn't stop her fast enough and jumped on that train with her without thinking...Why else would he not be here, unless he's chasing that train down the line._ Isumi mentally laughed picturing Waya running after the train yelling at it.

"Waya, I can't stay with you." She said and he looked at her.

"Why not?!" He asked her, a bit annoyed.

"I need to leave as soon as possible... I was going to head off to my old house to see my parents, and show them that I'm still alive, then leave tomorrow for America." She said as Waya looked at her a bit hurt.

"You've been crying." He said causing her to look away from him, covering her eyes with her bangs. "So, looks like I have to kick Kaga's ass."

"What?!" She looked bewildered.

"I told him that if he made you cry, I'd kick his ass." Waya told her, causing her to laugh. "What?! You don't think I can, do you?!"

"It's not just that..." She said looking past him at the darkness around the train, the walls that surrounded them. "I was heading to my parents house... you don't know how it was for me, the thought of facing them after two years is hard because it would be a lot easier to not face them at all...but..."

"Two years ago? I thought you left four years ago." Waya said, she closed her eyes and looked away from him, opening them again.

"I was in China..." She started, "I had become Pro and was rising in Dan... My parents have hated Go as long as I remember. Our family is known for Shougi..."

"Isumi told us about that..." Waya told her, "About your family hating Go and preferring Shougi..."

"Well, when I was in China... They appeared before me." She said her eyes narrowing. "I was punished beyond any other time I could remember..." She closed her eyes and took a few breaths keeping herself calm. "I was put in the hospitol for about two weeks because of how they reacted..."

"What did they do to you?" Waya asked her. She stayed quiet, not wanting to say. "You don't have to say if you don't want too..."

"Well... I left the hospitol without anyone knowing, I ran off..." She said opening her eyes and looking into his gold ones. "That's when I went to Europe...and I found myself becoming a Pro there as well. It was just natural for me to be a Pro I suppose...and my parents know about that, but they just found out a while ago..."

"Your parents are going to expect you to leave after you see them, right?!" Waya asked as the train stopped at it's next stop. The two moved out of the way for others to get off and on. "Well, stay in Japan, and send them on a wild goose chase."

"I couldn't...they're that good. I have family all throughout Tokyo." She said. Waya thought for a moment looking at her purple eyes.

"I got it!" He said placing his hands on her shoulders, startling her. "Move out of Tokyo! How about that?!" She looked taken back for a second, like she had never even thought of that. "We can rent an apartment or something small...split the rent, you know?!"

"Waya..." She said, but he continued. "Waya!" She said, causing him to now look taken back. "Stop it!" She yelled at him. People looked at them strangely. "Waya, why?" She asked, not yelling at him, but asking softly. "Why do you want me to stay in Japan? And if it's only so one day you can defeat me, that's not good enough."

_This feelling of not wanting her to go...it's not just to play her and one day defeat her...I just say that, but why?!_ Waya thought while looking away from her. _It's like something inside me thinks that if she leaves again, I won't see her again, so I want to be with her...I don't want her to leave... She can't leave..._

"You don't have an answer other than that, do you?" She said, Waya was still in thought. "That's what I thought..." She said, starting to get softer with every word, "If only you did...then maybe I would stay..."

"What did you say?!" Waya said, she looked up at him. "You said if I had another reason other than that, you would stay!?!"

_Why do I want a reason to stay?! I never planned on it..._ Ayame thought to herself.

_"What is your relation with him?" _She remebered Saikano asking her.

_What is it? What is my relation with him? He's my friend...that's it, right?_ She thought, shaking her head, _I don't want it to be just that! No, I don't... but he does probably...So it's best I leave..._

"This is my stop." She said as the train stopped again. "I'll see you later, Waya." She said, turning away from him, "Maybe...someday..." She said softly. She started to walk away, thinking a lot about it all. Something wet hit her hand and she looked down. _Tears?_ She thought reaching up and wipping her eyes._ Why am I crying?!_ She stopped in her step, thinking about it. _Why am I...sad?_

_"Ayame!"_ She could hear her name being called in the background of her mind. "Ayame!" no, it was being called now!

She turned and saw Waya jumping over the ticket taker. She turned away and started to leave.

_"AYAME!"_ His voice echoed in her head.


	4. Chapter 4: Shougi vs Go! Mom vs daughter

Disclaimer: Don't own Hikaru no Go...I do own Ayame's family, except for Kaga...and I also own Taki and her family... Taki's going to be getting her own story too, as soon as I type it! I have it in one of my notebooks at school...so yeah...that one will be IsumiOC...because I like OC's because they're easier to deal with in my mind... XP

* * *

Chapter Four

She started to walk up the stairs to leave the train, subway- whatever-, when someone grabbed her backpack stopping her. She sighed inwarily, knowing it was Waya. She turned to face him.

He was on the step below her, yet he was still taller than her. He reached up and placed a hand on her cheek wipping away the tears that still layed on her cheeks. "You're crying again..." He said as she turned her head from him.

"Don't worry yourself over it." She said turning away from him.

"Ayame..." He said stopping her again by grabbing her shoulder. "I...I'm..." He was cut off by her kissing him on the cheek. "What was that for?!" He asked, turning red. "I was going to say sorry for making you cry if it was me...but why?!"

"You're a good kid, Waya." She said before turning and running off. He stood there, dumbfounded.

"HEY! I'm older than you!" He said, running after her. "Don't call me kid!" He said running after her. She was pretty fast with everything she was carring. "Huh? Oh! I guess the others are probably wondering where I'm at...and also her..." He said to himself, stopping. He pulled out his phone and opened it, calling Shindo first.

"Waya! We've been trying to call you for a while now!" Hikaru yelled.

"Where are you guys at?" Waya asked.

"We're in the car with Taki driving..."

"Taki drives now?!" Waya said astound. "But that's besides the point." He told him where he was at. Kaga grabbed the phone and told him to wait where he was.

"Only that far? I'll get you guys there in ten!" A red haired, green eyed lady said. The light turned green, and Kaga, Shindo and Isumi held on for their lives while in the car.

"Ta-taki! you don't have to go this fast!" Isumi said. He was in the front passenger seat, with Kaga and Shindo in the back.

"Well, you want to find Meme, and I'm here to help! I'm worried about her too!" She said, "I mean, I practically let her live at my uncles Go Salon all those years!" She sped up even more sending tears of fear from the three boys faces.

"I swear...Isumi has the weirdest taste in women." Waya said pocketing his phone. "But if it wasn't for Taki, Ayame wouldn't have ever learned Go..." Waya said as he leaned again a light post.

And as Taki said, within ten minutes, they had arrived.

"Ground! Solid ground, I can see again!" Shindo and Kaga said getting out of the car and crawling on the ground. Taki and Isumi got out of the car and Taki grinned.

"Told ya I'd get you hear in ten." She said still grinning. "So, Isumi, now that we're here, what are we suppose to do?"

"Kaga?" Isumi said looking over, Kaga still on the ground with Shindo. "Where do you think Ayame would go?"

"She's going to her house." Waya spoke before Kaga could even take a breath.

"Alright boys! Hop in!" Taki said turning towards her car.

"I think I'll stay here for a bit." Shindo said.

"And we can't leave Shindo alone, so I'll stay too!" Kaga said as the two laughed.

"Okay, Waya, Isumi, let's go!" She said, sliding over the front of her car and getting in. Isumi and Waya exchanged glances.

"You're the one that's been dating her, Isumi, so don't give me that look." Waya said.

It didn't even seem like Waya had enough time to even close the door and get his seat belt on when the car sped off. Now he saw why Shindo and Kaga stayed behind. But he had to go...He had to find Ayame.

Ayame slowed to a walk as she looked around the place. _I'm almost there..._ She thought turning a corner. _I'll end this now though, this problem you have with me...and with Go..._

Taki made a sharp turn, sending Waya across the back seat. Like before, he couldn't even pull on his seat belt. He sat back up, only for her to make another sharp turn, sending him in the opposite direction. "WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Waya yelled in the back of the car with all the sharp turns.

She started to turn when she slammed on the brakes, making the car slide. Isumi and Waya braced themself for any impact to come. Waya opened his eyes to see Ayame starring at the car, her eyes opened wide as Taki opened the door. "Meme, you idiot!" Taki said hitting Ayame on the head. She started to pull her towards the car. "Get in!"

"No!" She said, getting away from Taki. Taki looked a bit shocked at this. "I'm settling this, and I'm never coming back once I leave!"

Waya's world froze. _Never coming back? _He thought, her voice echoing through his head now. _NO! you can't go! I want you to stay! I don't know why, I just don't want you to leave!_

There was a loud noise of skin meeting skin, and Waya almost thought that Taki had hit Ayame.He looked up to see an older lady with greying black hair in a bun ontop of her head with narrow purple eyes. He didn't see Ayame, and Taki had taken a few steps back, her eyes wide. "Get out of here..." The lady said to Taki who stayed where she was. "...you have torn our family appart already, so why don't you leave, Yamitsuki?"

Waya could see Ayame pushing herself off the ground back to her feet. She wipped away a trail of blood that was coming from her lip. "Taki...please...take Waya and Isumi and leave..." She wisphered to Taki. "Let me...handle this..."

"Ayame Yukikimi!" Taki yelled grabbing her. "I told you not to come back here."

"And I disobeyed!" Ayame snapped at Taki. She turned back to her mother. "I'm leaving and not returning. I'm not telling you where I am leaving too, you can find out on your own. These last two years, since you put me in the hospitol...I've grown, and I've become stronger...maybe one day you'll see that, but for now, I know you will not! You never have! All you and the family ever think about it Shougi this, and Shougi that! I play Shougi, I beat Kaga more than half the time now! What else do you want from me, other than to quit Go and become a Shougi Pro?!"

"There is nothing you can do, there never has ever since you picked up a Go stone." She said. "Leave now, or else you will never leave Japan."

"Are you treatening me?" Ayame pushed. Her eyes narrowed at her mother, who were just as narrowed.

"You are eighteen now, I have no worries over you. You are not my child anymore!" She retorted, Ayame didn't show if it affected her or not. "You never were!" Ayame and her mother didn't move at all.

The tension in the air was killing Waya, Taki and Isumi greatly.

"Kaga...let's go to a Go Salon...there's one down the street." Shindo said as Kaga and him finally were able to move and walk again. Kaga didn't feel like arguing and just followed Hikaru. "I hope they're able to bring Ayame back, I still haven't been able to play her yet!"

"You'd probably lose, Shindo." Kaga said and Hikaru glared. "She's really good. Remember not to judge a Pro by their Dan level...because you have to remember, Shindo, She was here for only a year and a half and was able to rise in Dan levels fast. Plus also in two other countries, she's gotten a lot of practice. She probably doesn't even recognize you as a rivial...her rivial is probably still that Touya kid."

"Touya?!" Shindo said, then remembered that the two knew eachother. "I guess..."

Ayame was on the ground again after her mother hit her again because she wouldn't leave the property. No one could move with the tension in the air. Ayame didn't get up as quickly as she had before. _Get up! I need to...get up...I need to...get stronger...and not at Go..._

"Shougi..." Ayame said as her arms shook while she pushed herself up. "I'll defeat you...at Shougi!" She said, glaring at her mother through her hair as she got onto her hands and knees. "If I defeat you...You have to leave me alone, and act like I never exsisted to you..."

"And when I win, you have to give up on being a Go Pro, and you'll have a family again." She said as Ayame finally got to her feet. She reached up and pulled her hair up in a tie to get out of her face, a few strands other than her bangs fell into her face. "Agree?"

"Agreed." She said tightening the tie.

"Come back in one week at Noon. We'll have a match then." She said as Waya and Isumi finally got out of the car as her mother left.

_One week..._ Ayame thought breathing in the cold air. It was getting late and she could see her breath. _One week, and I can go where ever I want without them trying to find me..._ She thought clenching her fist. _I must win...I have to win!_

Waya was the first to her, as she glared at the back of her mother as she walked away. _One week, and it might be the end of it all..._ Waya thought looking at Ayame's mothers back. He turned towards Ayame, _Or in one week, is when she can live freely..._.

"Ayame..." Waya said softly as she closed her eyes, there was still the high tension in the air, but not as much.

"Meme, get in the car..." Taki said, her eyes shadowed. _I couldn't protect her like I was able to before... I shouldn't be able to now...she's eighteen... she's old enough now to do that on her own..._ Taki looked over at Waya. _Unless she has someone else to protect her as well..._

"Waya...I'm sorry..." She said, her eyes shadowed. "I...you...you shouldn't have known about this, or seen any of it..." She said just loud enough for him to hear.

"Don't worry about it..." He said, he grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him. He hugged her, resting his head on hers. "If you need help with anything...even if I completely suck at shougi... I'll try to help you as well..." He said lightly to her. "I...promise."

"Taki..." Isumi said looking over at Taki. "Do you want me to drive?"

"Y-yeah..." She said handing him the keys. "Please..."

They all got in the car, Isumi in the drivers seat, Taki in the front passenger seat. Waya and Ayame sat in the back seat, buckled up for safety precations. The car ride was silent, and they reached the main part of the area, and was able to find Kaga and Shindo. The four were able to squeeze in the back because of how tiny they all were.

"Everyone's heading to their place right?" Isumi asked as they entered the area where most of them all lived. "Shindo's is the closest right now, so I'll drop you off first." They reached Shindo's place, and Kaga lived down the street some, so that was the next stop.

Kaga got out of the car but Ayame didn't move. He paused and looked at her, "Ayame, come on." He said but she didn't respond. Isumi looked over his shoulder at Ayame to see what was wrong.

"Kaga..." Ayame said, "Remember, I'm not living with you anymore..."

"That was a petty arguement! Of course you can still live with me. Now, come on." He said, starting to get a bit annoyed.

"Kaga, I'll let her stay at my house." Taki said, not looking away from the dashboard infront of her. "I think she needs to be with some girls for a change."

Kaga sighed, "Fine, just this one night, Taki...and you better not get her drunk off her ass!"

"Yeah yeah." Taki said as Kaga closed the door. She then turned to Waya as Isumi started to drive off. "Waya..." He looked up at her, questioningly. "Be a doll, and let Ayame stay at your place." Waya didn't argue, but simply nodded. Taki looked at him for a moment longer before turning around to face the front again.

Isumi reached Waya's apartment complex within the next ten minutes. "Ayame..." Waya said, looking over at her. "...Come on..." He said grabbing her stuff. She ended up scooting over in the seat and getting out. "Thanks for the ride, Taki, Isumi..." Waya said as Ayame bowed her head in thanks.

"Do you think it's all right to let her stay at Waya's?" Taki asked Isumi. "I was just thinking being around her family would cause her more pain..."

"I think it's all right." Isumi said as he pulled onto the street again.

"Do you want to stay over tonight, Isumi?" Taki asked and Isumi nodded. "This time, I call cookie dough ice cream as my base!"

"Then I'll get french vanilla." Isumi said as Tahaki grinned.

"My ice cream sunday will ultimately taste better than that of your petty french vanillia." She said sitting back in the seat some. "Though, I still worry about Ayame..."

"Don't worry about it to much...Waya can always do that." Isumi said, causing Taki to laugh.

"Waya still seems like a kid to me."

"He's only two years younger than you though."

"Still a kid!" Taki said grinning.

"Now you make me worry about Waya..." Isumi said as Taki grinned.

"Though, I just hope Ayame doesn't go into depression...then I would feel horrible for leaving her with Waya..." Taki said thinking about it.

"Why?"

"When she's depressed, she'll use people...and when I say that, I don't mean for money or anything..." Isumi looked at Taki from the corner of his eyes. "That's what worries me the most."

"You could have said something earlier..." Isumi said, "And Waya may be alive in morning then..." Taki laughed as they pulled up to her apartment complex.

Waya set Taki's bag down in the corner of his room. "Ayame." He said turning towards her, "You can sleep in my bed tonight if you want. But for now, I'm going to hop into the shower." Waya said walking over to his bedroom and getting his towel.

"Waya..." He came out of the bathroom and walked over to her.

"Yeah?" He asked looking down at her.

"I am really really sorry about all of this..." She said looking at his shirt that was in front of her.

"I said before, don't worry about it." He said looking over at the clock. It was about eight at night. "If you want, I have some ice cream in the freezer." He said, "You can have some if it makes you smile and relax." He said before turning. "If you need me, I'll be in the shower for about ten minutes." He started to take off his shirt before he fully reached the bathroom. He normally lived alone, and wasn't use to other people there.

Ayame turned swiftly and went into the kitchen to get some ice cream. _Relaxation is what I need..._ She thought to herself._ It has to be..._

Ten minutes later, Waya exited the bathroom, and looked over in the living room to see Ayame on her laptop playing GO online with a spoon in her mouth and a bowl of ice cream next to her. _She get's cozy real easily..._ He thought as she looked up at him. His hair was still dripping a bit, and he had a towel around his waist. Both paused, before turning away, both red. _Dammit, Waya...it's not any different from when I stay at Taki's with Shindo and Isumi._

_Focus on the game, don't get distracted!_ Ayame thought going back to the game. _Dammit... I got to distracted by Waya! ARGGGHHHHHHH!_ She looked back up and he was in his room getting changed. The door opened from his room and she went back to her laptop.

"Ayame, are you feelling any better?" Waya asked walking over and sitting by her. She nodded slightly.

"Shougi isn't my forte, as you are most likely aware...But I am somewhat good at it." She said, closing the window after the person resigned. "I played Shougi a lot as a kid...and I still do every once in a while...and I can still kid my cousin's butt at it most of the time now."

"What about your mom?" Waya asked.

"She's a tough one to defeat..." She said, looking at her keyboard, "I'm not sure if I will be able to win."

"But you have to! You can't lose and resign from being a Go Pro!" Waya said as she smiled.

"She said to give up on being Go Pro, she never said I couldn't stop playing it." She said grinning. Waya sighed, "What?!"

"You need to win still!" Waya said. "You need to stay Pro."

"I don't need to be a pro to kick your ass in Go, Waya." She said grinning cheekly.


	5. Chapter 5: Boyfriend, Kids, and a Talk

Disclaimer: I do not own Hikaru no Go, yada yada...

* * *

Chapter Five

Drops of water hit the ground; rain. It was splashed by the running foot steps of a young girl only seven or eight. Tears poured out of her eyes, but were mixed with the rain, so no one could tell, unless they clearly were able to see her eyes, how puffy they had become. She couldn't stop panting as she ran, breathing heavy as she also cried did not help. 

_She ran down many streets, because her house was aways away from the main city. She only wore a simple sun dress, because it had been sunny in the morning part of that day. She had on sandles, and her feet and calves were muddy and wet._

_Why?! She asked herself, her short shoulder length black hair sticking to her face and neck from the rain. Why did this happen?!_

_She tripped and landed in a large puddle. She pushed her self onto her knees and sat there. Her hands grabbing at the water, and it slipping through her hands._

_She let our a loud scream that echoed thoughout the empty streets, and in her head. The thunder seemed to grow and the lightning flashing brighter._

There was a clap of thunder and Ayame's eyes shot open. She looked over at the clock, but it was blank. _Power outage..._ She thought closing her eyes. _It's been one week already, I've been playing Kaga a lot since the challenge...I...don't know if I can win still..._ She thought, clenching her hand on the pillow. Another clap of thunder came and the flash of lightning flashing outside her window. "It's just like that day...ten years ago..." She said sitting up and pulling her knees up to her, wrapping her arms around them, and resting her head on them as well. _When I was punished for the first time for playing Go..._

She stood up and walked out of the room. Waya was asleep on the ground, curled in a somewhat ball, with the blanket half over him, and holding the pillow under his head. She went over to her bag and opened it up, pulling out her cell phone and flipping it open. _It's only four in the morning..._ She thought rolling her eyes. _I won't be able to get back to sleep, I already know that..._ She thought sitting down and sighing. She pulled out her laptop and opened it. _So much for playing online too...meh!_ She thought as she put in her head phones and put on some music. She set her laptop next to her and just listen to the music.

_"You let her go to that damned place!" Tears flowed from a young Ayame's face. "And now she's taking that stupid pro test! Look what your doing to her! She can never be apart of our family again!" She sat in her room, her back to the wall, listening to her mother yell at her father._

_"I didn't know she was going to head there! We went into the town to the bookstore, and she went off on her own!" Her father yelled at her mother._

_"Why?" Ayame asked barely over a wispher. "Why is this happening to me?!" She said wipping away the tears._

_"Because you were born to be different. Now, Ayame, come on! You have a game tonight, and if you continue to sit around and cry you won't get anywhere." She looked up to see a red haired girl in her window._

_"TAKI-SAN!" Ayame said, her eyes going wide._

_"Come on, Ayame!" Taki said extending her hand out to Ayame. She reached out and took it, Taki pulling her onto her feet. "I can give you a ride, I finally got a car!"_

_"You're not old enough to drive though!"_

_"And?! I was made for the road." She said grinning. They left through Ayame's window, the curtains blowing in the wind._

_Her parents entered, and did not see her, but saw the window open._

She opened her eyes and looked over at her laptops dark sceen. _Batery ran out..._ She thought, her eyebrow twitching a bit. She closed the laptop and removed the headphones. _I'm really bored, but I don't want to wake up Waya...WHAT IS ONE TO DO?!!?!?!_

Waya stirred a bit before yawning and rolling onto his back, kicking the blanket off. Ayame couldn't see to well, and thought he might have woken up. "Waya?" She asked, hoping he was awake.

A loud crack of thunder occured causing Waya to sit up. The flash of lightning causing him to look around the room. "Damn...powers out..." He mumbled standing up and stretching. _Today's going to be a fun day! _He thought sarcastically in his head.

"Waya!" Ayame said, causing him to stop and look around again. She walked over to him after standing up.

"Your awake? So that must mean that I slept in!?! Aw man! What time is it?!" He asked as she laughed a bit.

"It's only five." She said as he sighed in relief.

"Why are you awake so early?" Waya asked her, and she shugged. "You seem to relaxed for todays challenge..." He said putting his hand against her forehead, "Are you sick by any chance?"

"No, I'm not." She said removing his hand from her forehead, her bangs falling back in place. There was a clap of thunder and another stike of lightning. "Well, not that I'm aware of..." She said thinking about it. "But I'm actually really nervous."

"Well, you sure as hell are good at hiding it." He said turning away and heading over to the kitchen area. "Are you hungry? I got some cereal and other stuff if you want." She walked over and he looked over at her. "Or we can challenge the weather and go somewhere to eat. I think NcDonalds is open 24/7 right?"

"I believe so." She said, "But do we really want to go outside?" She asked as another thunder clap came, followed by a stike of lightning. She closed her eyes from the bright flash. "It seems like it's right outside the apartment." She commented.

"I noticed that too." He said closing the fridge. "Let's challenge the weather and go out to eat." He said, "Do you have anything warm to wear in this weather." She kind of laughed a bit before shaking her head no. "Alright, I'll lend you something then."

They got changed, and Ayame's eye sort of twitched about how small she looked in his jacket and stuff. "I feel like a little kid who played dress up in her parents clothes..." She said sighing as she pulled her hair into a bun.

"You ready, Ayame?" Waya asked opening the door to his room to see if she was ready.

"I swear, if I wasn't ready, I would have thown something at you." She said as he laughed.

"It's not like I can really see anything in the darkness." He pointed out. "Ow! What the hell was that for?!" He yelled grabbing the pillow she threw at him. "Just because you can see in the dark doesn't mean everyone else can!" He said throwing the pillow back.

"Damn, you hecka missed!" She said laughing so hard she had to lean again the wall. He went and grabbed the pillow and hit her with it. "H-hey! That's not fair!" She said, trying not to laugh anymore, but was failling misberaly.

"Ha! I figured it out! You let your guard down with you laugh!" He said grinning. She went to grab the pillow but he held it above his head so she couldn't reach.

"Damn tall people!" She said trying to reach it. "Fine...if your going to be that way..." She said stepping back to think of a plan. "Waya...how strong are you?" She asked him.

"What kind of ques-" He didn't have time to finish as she jumped up, barely getting a corner of the pillow, and throwing all her weight onto him to get it.

There was yet another clap of thunder followed by a strike of lightning. Waya had fallen backwards from the unexpected weight and landed on the ground, his back to his bed. The pillow landed on the other side of the bed, and Ayame landed infront of him, hand out stretched past him where the pillow was momentarily before. She had ahold of Waya's wrist that held the pillow, but no pillow.

There was another flash of lightning and the two looked at eachother for a moment. Ayame went to say something, but she didn't know what to say, and neither did Waya. Her hair had fallen out of the bun, and fell down her back, with some on her hair falling over her shoulders and particially in her face.

_I..._ Waya didn't know what to think of do at this moment in time, and apparently neither did Ayame. _What...do I do? what should I do?_

_Keep breath under control and everything will be allright..._ Ayame thought as neither Waya nor Ayame look away from eachother. _The pillows on the other side of the bed, I'll get it, and smack him with it for revenge...yeah! I'll do that...Easy plan..._ She thought to herself, _But why won't I move?_

Waya's cell phone went off causing both to look down the hall where it rang and vibrated on the floor. _Why is Isumi calling this early?_ Waya thought as he felt Ayame stand up. He looked over and saw she offered him a hand up. He took it and stood up. She smiled softly and turned away as he walked down the hallway to get his phone. She went to put her hair back up.

"Isumi?" Waya answered the phone. "What?! Taki?!" Ayame turned and looked down the hall. "What!?...Do you want to talk to her?" She walked down the hall, giving him a questioning look, which he most likely couldn't see in the darkness. "Okay, hold on." He turned towards Ayame. "Taki wants to talk to you."

"Hello?" She asked Taki.

"Meme, you weren't sleeping, were you?" She asked firstly.

"No, the powers out, and Waya and I were awake." She said, "But what's wrong?"

"It's about your mother." She said.

"What about her?" Ayame asked seriously. Waya looked at her.

"I don't really know, I just got word from Saikano about it." Taki said, "Last night, you mother colapsed...they think maybe a minor heart failure."

"And? What else?" She asked, still seriously.

"She's in the hospitol...I wanted to let you know before you went to the house for the match. She's at the local clinic by your house if you want to see her." Taki said. "I'd say see her, even if you two hate eachother's guts."

"I don't hate her...We just don't agree on many terms."

"Same difference in my world, darling." Taki said, "So, are you going to see her?"

"I don't know..." Ayame said. She looked over at Waya, who looked confused. "Waya, the challenge isn't today. My mothers at the local clinic from falling yesterday night. Taki wants to know if I'm going to go and see her. Do you want to come as well?"

"I'll go if you do." Waya said, as Ayame nodded.

"Yeah, I'll go." Ayame said.

"So, your little boyfriend is going to come too?" Taki said in a teasing voice.

"He's not my boyfriend..." Ayame said, annoyed. Her cheeks turning a bit pink, but in the dark, Waya couldn't notice, she hoped.

"Sure he isn't, Meme... Well, I'm come by around eleven thirty..." Taki said, "And tell your boyfriend I say bye."

"HE'S NOT MY--GEEEEEEZ she hung up on me..." Ayame said annoyed now by Taki. She gave Waya back the phone, "And she says bye."

"Do I want to know what she was really saying?" He asked, his eye brow twithing a bit.

"Not at all." Ayame said smiling a bit. "So, we still going to NcDonalds?"

"Yeah, it kind of sounds like the rains lightening up too." He said grabbing his jacket.

"That's good at least." She said. They walked over towards the door and slipped on their shoes and left.

.:xXx:.

"You really do love torturing her, don't you?" Isumi asked as he walked in from another room.

"Of course! She's my little flower blossem, so I have to help her grow...Think about, what teenaged girl doesn't have a boyfriend by the time their eighteen? Same goes for guys about girlfriends! You would almost think they might be gay." Taki said taking a drink of hott chocolate.

"If I remember correctly, you were only nineteen when we finally got together." Isumi said as she glared at him.

"Well, we were childhood friends...that's within reason!" She said, trying to make a point. "Waya and Meme have only known eachother for about three weeks now, right? And she's kind of been living in his apartment for the last week, if you didn't catch it."

"When did you become cupid?" Isumi said, sitting down next to her. She stuck her tounge out at him. "And anyways, why don't you let them get together by themselves..."

"Because every relationship happens because of friends!" She said, then paused, "Well, most of them."

"Maybe this is one of the ones that doesn't need friends...I've known Waya for about ten years, and you've known Ayame for about ten years..." Isumi said, "We both seen them grow, and they still are."

"You talk about them like they're our kids Isumi." She said as he blushed a bit. "You're not hinting at anything, are you?"

"Uh- what do you mean?" He said as she laughed.

.:xXx:.

Waya and Ayame walked down the street under an umbrella towards the closest NcDonalds. Ayame had ahold of the jacket she wore, as the wind was very cold, and they were surprised it was snowing from how cold it was, it was still raining. They soon reached the NcDonalds, and entered.

"It's so warm in here..." Ayame commented, intaking the warm air. They walked over to a table and sat down, taking off their coats as well, since they were wet and set them on the back of their chairs.

"What do you want? I'll pay." Waya said standing up.

"You don't have too, Waya." She said stopping him.

"I don't have too." He said, "But I'd prefer too." he said smiling. She sighed, giving in.

He came back a few minutes with the food and set it on the table. "Oh, Taki said that she'll pick us up at eleven thirty." Ayame said before taking a bite.

"Is Isumi going to be coming?" Waya asked. Ayame shugged.

After they finished eating, they threw away their trash and got their coats on. Ayame pulled out her phone to see what time it was. "It's only six fourty." She said, she looked outside where it still rained, "It sure as hell doesn't look like it."

"I know what you mean." Waya said grabbing the umbrella. "Do you want to head back now or go somewhere else."

"I'm not sure if your electricity is back up yet, so we can run by and see." Ayame said as Waya nodded.

"You just want to get on your laptop and play Go online, don't you?" Waya said as she laughed.

"No, actually I was going to sign up for a school." She said and Waya looked at her. "That's why I was going to go to America... Become Pro and college."

"You do to much." Waya said laughing. _I know I shouldn't worry about it to much since it passed, but earlier, when we were on the ground... I could feel my heart racing...but I want to know why._ Waya thought as they exited NcDonalds and opened the umbrella. _But there is really no one that I can ask about it to get an answer...is there? Maybe Shindo or Isumi...but I don't know if they would laugh or even know why..._

"Hey! Waya! It's snowing!" Ayame said sounding like she had never seen snow before. "It's been over four years since I've seen snow in Japan! It's different somehow in China and Europe!" She ran out from under the umbrella and looked up into the sky. Waya closed the umbrella and walked over towards Ayame.

Waya smiled, it was like looking at a kid who gets to see the snow for the first time. "Hey, Ayame..." He said causing her to stop and turn towards him.

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to head over to Taki's now and hang out there. I need to talk to Isumi about some things." Waya said. _It's bugging me to much to try to ignore it._

"Sure." She said, _Although Taki is going to give me hell and annoy me saying Waya's my boyfriend again..._ She thought, _I don't understand why she has to do that...I mean, she doesn't think I actually like him right? He's just my friend that I find hott, right? Right?!_ She shook it out of her head and they headed over towards Taki's.

They knocked on the door and Isumi answered it, looking at the two who had what looked like, more snow than hair on their head. "Do I want to know?" He asked.

"He started it." Ayame said pointing at Waya.

"What?! Did not!" He argued as she stuck her tounge out at him.

"Do you guys want to come in?" Isumi asked, "But I think you should get the snow out of your hair first." The two nodded and got as much as they could out of their hair.

"Meme?" Taki asked seeing the three enter the room. "And you brought your-"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Ayame cut her off.

"Meme, do you want to take a shower before you get a cold?" Taki asked her and Ayame nodded. "You know where everything is, right?"

"Yeah, I remember." Ayame said, "Can I steal some of your clothes too?"

"If you can fit in any of them." She called as Ayame went into Taki's room to get some clothes then walked to the bathroom.

"Isumi..." Waya said getting Isumi's attention. "I..."

"Hey, Waya!" Taki said patting him on the head, "I was wondering if the three of us could have a talk." She said gesturing towards Isumi her and himself.

"Taki..." Isumi sighed, "I thought we agreed earlier that..."

"Well, that was before Waya wanted to talk about it." She said, forcing Waya to sit in the middle of the couch next to Isumi and her. "So Waya, what did you do this time?"

"Wha-?!" He asked confused. He looked over to Isumi who sighed in slight annoyance.

"Waya, she's talking about with you and Ayame." Isumi explained.

"Again, Wha-?!" He said looking back at Taki now.


	6. Chapter 6: The Golden Metal

Disclaimer: Same as any other I've posted! Geezz!

* * *

Chapter Six

"A strange feeling?" Isumi asked Waya. He nodded. Isumi and Taki exchanged glances. "What do you mean?"

Waya looked down at his hands, unable to describe. He wasn't expecting on talking to Taki about it, only Isumi. Isumi looked at Taki and she nodded, getting up and leaving the room. "Where is she going?" Waya asked Isumi.

"You originally came to just talk to me, right?" Isumi asked and Waya nodded, "That's why she left. I don't know how much help I will be to you..."

"Meme, you almost done?" Taki asked, knocking on the door.

"Yeah, but these clothes don't really fit I don't think...I think they're from to many years ago." Ayame's voice came.

"Alright...I can get you some new ones if you like." Taki said.

"Can I just go into your room and see in there?" Ayame asked.

"That's absurd, Isumi!" Waya said, his cheeks tinted red. "W-why would I?!"

"That stuff just happens, Waya." Isumi said, trying to think of a way to explain it.

"Is that why Taki keeps saying I'm Ayame's..." He paused.

"Boyfriend?" Isumi finished for him and he nodded. "Yes, that's exactly why."

Waya ruffled up his hair a bit. "Women are to confusing! That's why I never got with anyone before!" He said sighing.

"And also the fact that while being an insei, there weren't any girls there that were your age, and if there was, they weren't your type, right?" Isumi asked.

"Yeah, well there was Nase...she's the only girl that would really hang around us...other than Taki once she had started going to Tokyo U." Waya said.

"It's snowing outside, I am not going to wear a skirt." Ayame argued.

"But you look so cute in skirts!" Taki taunted, "Waya's never seen you in a skirt, has he?"

"Will you just be quiet about that!" Ayame said looking over at the dresser. "Here, I'll wear these with the skirt."

"Fine..." Taki sighed as Ayame smiled. She got changed into a pair of black slacks with a dark purple skirt that went to the knees over it with a black long sleeve shirt with a purple tank top over it. She pulled her hair up in a tie off her neck since it was still a bit wet. "Good match, I'm surprised my stuff fits you."

"Same here, considering your about two inches taller than me." Ayame said heading towards the door. Taki stopped her before she reached it. "What is it?" Ayame asked, looking over her shoulder at Taki.

"Isumi is talking to Waya right now."

"And?" Ayame didn't understand why she couldn't leave the room because they were talking.

"I don't think you'd want to intrude on them at this time." Taki said.

"I wonder why you have power when Waya and I didn't." Ayame said, changing the subject randomly.

"Because we're in a different district than you." Taki explained.

"Well, I would think the powers back on, but I'm not sure. I think I'll run over to Kaga's place for a bit. Since Waya and Isumi are talking and you won't let me leave, I can take the fire escape!" She said walking over towards the window.

"W-wait! In snow, it would be freezing on the fire escape, so I'll escort you through the apartment." Taki said. Ayame looked at her strangely.

"You're acting pretty funny." Ayame commented.

"Isumi, Waya, Ayame's going to be going right now for a bit." Taki said down the hallway as warning for them. "I'm going to drive her over to Kaga's."

"Wha? You're going to leave?" Waya said looking up from his hands, his cheeks slightly pink. "Do you want me to go to, or wait here?"

Ayame looked at him, and paused in thought. She then smiled, "You can wait here. I'll be back though." She said before turning and leaving through the door with Taki.

"So, Meme, what's been going on between you two? He seemed like he was really confused when he first started talking to us. What'd you do to the poor guy?" Taki asked. Ayame shugged. "Hey, Meme...I've been wondering something."

"What is it?" Ayame asked, "Is it the fact that your actually going the speed limit?"

Taki looked away, her eye twitching, "Not quite..." She said. "But do you actually like him though? I'll be straight forward with you about it. So you better be straight forward with me."

"What??" She said looking at Taki.

"About Waya, do you?" Taki asked and Ayame closed her eyes before turning forward and opening them again. "Or are you just confusing everyone?"

"What do you mean, _everyone_?" Ayame asked as they arrived at Kaga's appartment complex.

"Isumi, Waya, Kaga, Shindo, Myself..." Taki said counting on her fingers.

"Don't worry about it, or get confused any further!" Ayame said opening her door. "Thanks for the ride, Taki." She said waving and closing the door.

"Damn, that's still a striaght forward answer..." Taki said sitting back in her seat. "Oh well..." She drove back towards her apartment.

"Kaga!" She knocked on the door. He opened the door and looked down at her. "The match is postponed, and until then, I need to increase my strength in Shougi."

"You're honnestly just trying to escape from Taki and them, aren't you?" he asked.

"No one needs to know that though." She said smiling. "You already know why the match was postponed, I presume."

"Yeah, Saikano called me last night and told me." He said letting her in. "Are you happy to have in Postponed?" He asked her as she stopped in the living room.

"It would make no difference..." She said before turning, her hair flying around her, "If my match is today, or in ten years. The outcome would still be the same." Kaga looked at his cousin, who's normal purple eyes were narrowed and dagerous. "I have just been handed time to overcome that outcome, and to change it in my favor."

"Then, shall we get started?" Kaga asked smirking. She nodded and they sat down at the Shougi board.

_She knows who her oppenet is, and she knows that opponent is tough..._ Kaga thought looking up at his cousin over his fan. _She concentrates hard on these games now, she wants to win...no...she needs to win..._

"It looks like the rain is easing up." Taki said re-entering the apartment. Isumi and Waya were playing a game of Go on her goban. "That means I don't have to drive the speed limit." Waya looked up at her like she was mad. "She's at Kaga's, and in a few hours, we'll head over to the hospitol." Waya and Isumi nodded before going back to their game. She sat down and turned on the TV.

Kaga froze, his hand over the board. _It's over..._ He thought, retracting his hand. "You win."

She bowed. "Kaga, I don't feel like I'm improving that much from playing you over and over..." She said, "I need something more..." She searched for the words, "Complicated..."

_She's gaining a lot from playing from me...she's growing a lot too..._ He thought looking at the board, _What is she? She hardly plays Shougi, and yet she's this strong, she's a pro for Go, not Shougi...Pro...good she defeat a Pro Shougi player?!_ He thought biting the tip of his fan in thought. "Tomorrow, come back here at ten in the morning." He demanded. "You're going to play someone other than me."

"Huh?"

"You're going to play other people too." Kaga said, "And you will learn different styles of playing different people."

"Right." She said.

"Until then, let's have another game." He said, as they cleared the board to restart.

"Right." She said again, setting the pieces aside._ I need to win this, I need to stay a Pro...although...if I lose--- NO! Losing is not an option right now! I need to beat my mother! I need to win!_ She thought becoming more serious in her eyes. Kaga gulped.

The door opened and Ayame entered the hospitol room. It was empty except for her mother, who layed on the bed reading a book. She glanced up when she heard the door open, and then went back to her book after seeing it was Ayame.

"What are you doing here." She demanded more than asked.

"I was seeing if you were alright." Ayame said walking over and sitting on the chair by the bed she set down a bag underneath the chair.

"I guess this gives you more time to try to achieve something you never will be able to obtain, doesn't it?" She asked and Ayame sighed.

"If you would prefer the game today, we can. But I am only worring about your health." Ayame said peacefully.

"You can cut the act Ayame." She snapped and Ayame closed her eyes. "I know you don't care about your family at all."

"Actually I do." She said opening her eyes again. Her mother looked at her eyes, so narrow and dark. "If I did not, I would not have bothered to come back home last week to let you know I was alive, so you could relieve those that you have sent out to look for me." She said without emotion, her eyes still dark. "I do wish, however, that you stop looking for me to try to bring me back home. I am after all, 18 now, and well aware of what goes on in the real world."

"Sure you do." Her mother said, snapping her book closed and setting it to the side.

"I was planning on attending a college in America for a while, but I cannot fufill that if your people follow me." Ayame said.

"They will release me tomorrow...So in two days we will play, daughter." She said as Ayame nodded.

"I will look forward to that day." Ayame said getting up. "I do hope you feel better." She said turning and leaving. The door opened and a tall red haired man entered. Ayame looked away from him as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Hello, father." She said as they passed eachother.

She left the room and Waya, Taki and Isumi sat in the waiting room. Only family was permitted to see her. Taki was the first up and ran over to Ayame. "Did she hurt you? I don't see any wounds! Did she die or something? NO, then it would be heckic...what happened? You're not wounded at all!" She said exaimining Ayame. The people in the waiting room looked at them strangely.

"Taki, Taki, Taki..." Isumi said, pulling Taki off of Ayame, who was red from everyone staring at them and Taki being the way she was. "Let her breathe, or you may be the one that hurts her."

"Fine, are you ready to go then?" Taki asked and Ayame nodded. The four left the hospitol.

"Hm? Looks like Ayame forgot something." her father said picking up the bag. Her mother looked over, "I wonder what's in it." He opened the back and found a gold metal with a ribbon around it. "Hmmm?"

"What is it, Kaito?" Her mother asked. He pulled it out of the bag and handed it to her. "When did she get this?" She looked over the metal. _First place in the junior Shougi tournoment? When did she ever enter this...it says this is when she was fourteen...This must have been before she left then..._ Her mother thought looking at it. _She must have left this to show she wasn't going to be an easy opponet...how typical of her._

"Ayame, didn't you have a bag when you went in there?" Waya asked Ayame.

"I don't know what your talking about." She said smiling. _Two days..._ She thought. It echoed thoughout her head. _Two days..._


End file.
